It had been about two hours since Bai Zemin had disappeared, and no one in the entire Transcendent faction had any idea about what was he doing. Only Kang Lan and Fu Xuefeng felt that it was a bit strange for the leader to disappear in this kind of situation when he had just returned.
Moreover, both Kang Lan and Fu Xuefeng had their suspicions regarding what Bai Zemin was doing. Of course, it was not that either of them doubted him in a bad way but they were simply suspicious because of his strange behavior towards the Second Order zombie, as well as the last words he said regarding giving the creature a chance to work for him and stay with them.
Be that as it may, even though the humans had managed to repel the main army, more and more mutant beasts were coming from a distance. Most of the creatures fought each other as they ran rampant across the desolate land, crushing anything that dared to cross their paths.
The same was true for the zombies. Small groups of zombies that if grouped together could form a large horde began to approach from all sides as if attracted by something.
Fortunately for the establishment, the soldiers on the walls, as well as the archers, were able to take out the zombies before they presented any kind of difficulty for the base while the other soul evolvers took care of the mutant beasts.
Standing at the entrance of the base and guarded by two First Order soul evolvers, Lu Xiaoyao frowned at the workers who were moving too slowly for her liking and the situation they were in.
“Hurry up! We need to move as many corpses as possible while we can!”
The mutant beast flesh could not be wasted in any way which was why all the bodies that did not have poisonous flesh or had not been hit by some poisonous magic skill were immediately taken to the base where they would later be processed.
The flesh would be frozen and stored, the Soul Stones would be taken to the faction’s secret storage, the pelts and leathers, as well as the carcasses of natural armor would be dismantled to later be used during the forging of defensive equipment or to reinforce buildings and even the walls. Claws could even be used as weapons right away while tendons could be used for bowstrings or crossbows.
Practically nothing was wasted. In this kind of world even the junk could have some use at some point; it was up to everyone to find that use.
Standing near the moat, the Wen twins were standing under the guardianship of little Luo Ning who was cautiously looking at the surroundings while holding her giant sword.
“Luo Ning, why did you choose a greatsword as your main weapon?” Wen Yan, the twin who wore a ponytail, asked.
She was holding little Xiao Xiao, the pretty pink dolphin who was currently hard at work using her aquatic skills to clear the moat so that if a large-scale invasion like the previous one occurred the new enemies wouldn’t be able to use the old bodies as bridges to reach the base walls.
“For two reasons!” Luo Ning held up two fingers as if to emphasize the fact that there were two important reasons behind her seemingly peculiar choice. She put one finger down and said in a clear voice, “First reason…. Because the path I walk is a very strange one! The path of a magic warrior!”
“The path you walk?”
“Em! Big brother often uses those words to refer to the class we soul evolvers choose when we reach level 25 or above.”
“Luo Ning, what is a magic warrior?” Wen Yun asked with her lolita voice. She, in contrast to her sister Wen Yan, had two ponytails, one on each side of her head.
“A magic warrior is…. I don’t know! Big brother told me that since my main stats are Strength and Magic then I’m a magic warrior!”
“I see… So, the reason why you use a greatsword is because it’s more suitable for someone who uses brute force?”
“Wen Yun… For some reason, I feel like you are offending me but I can’t put my finger on where the problem lies in your words.”
“… It’s your imagination… hehehe…”
“So, what’s your second reason for choosing a greatsword?”
“Right, I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me, Wen Yan.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Then, the second reason why I chose this greatsword as my main weapon? It is, of course, because big brother Bai also wields one!”
“… That second choice of yours is quite interesting.”
“… Wen Yun, is it my imagination, or are you making fun of me?”
“…”
The three little girls seemed to be in their own little world, casually chatting while the surroundings were littered with the blood and flesh of exploded or burned corpses.
The little pink dolphin seemed to be really sick of listening to the girls talking all day but since she had no choice Xiao Xiao continued to do her job obediently. She really couldn’t wait for Bai Zemin to come back to hug her after such a long time.
Just as the little pink dolphin was thinking about such a thing while removing the bodies from the moat, her big pink eyes lit up and she hurriedly turned her little head to the side.
“Puuu!”
“Woah!”
Wen Yan subconsciously opened her arms and took several steps back as the dolphin in her embrace exerted a tiny bit of force to jump, successfully slipping and escaping her grasp.
The three girls followed little Xiao Xiao’s jumping trajectory with their eyes and froze when they saw the person who caught the little pink dolphin with ability.
“Big brother!”
“”Big brother Bai!””
The three girls immediately rushed over when they saw Bai Zemin a little over a hundred meters ahead of them, forgetting the work they were doing.
Bai Zemin chuckled as he saw the three little angels running towards him. Luo Ning was naturally countless times faster than the Wen twin sisters so she was the first to come and hug him directly.
Not long after, the Wen twins also arrived. Wen Yan took the left side and Wen Yun took the right side as if they had both talked about it beforehand.
In the past, the Wen twins were not especially close to Bai Zemin and the two of them were only relatively closer to Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, and Luo Ning. However, because the three aforementioned people spent a lot of time together with Bai Zemin, the Wen twins gradually began to get to know him and interact more with him.
Due to Bai Zemin’s personality, he did not take too long to win the fanaticism of the little twins to the point that Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him with weird eyes several times, which made Bai Zemin feel a little uncomfortable for several days.
“Puuu! Pu pu pu pu!”
Little Xiao Xiao Xiao rubbed her soft little head against Bai Zemin’s chest, it was as if she wanted to dig a hole in the armor and crawl in there forever.
“My dear Xiao Xiao, I’ve missed you too…” Bai Zemin held the little pink dolphin with one hand and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead, much to the little animal’s delight.
With his free hand, he patted each girl and stroked their hair alternately to make sure none of them felt left behind.
“Wen Yun, I see you changed your hairstyle and now wear your sister’s?”
“Big brother Bai, you really noticed the difference between the two of us! That’s amazing!”
“Mm! Only our parents could accurately identify who was who hehehe…”
“And you, Luo Ning, I see you’ve broken through to level 44 in such a short time. That’s quite some advancement, in no time you’ll be a powerful Second Order soul evolver… You’re even likely to surpass me!”
“Hehehe… I don’t want to surpass big brother or else I won’t be able to be the princess of China.”
“… Don’t you want to be the queen better?”
“Nope! Big brother shall be king and I shall be princess hehehe!”
“…”
It was a quite strange or rather, peculiar sight. In the middle of the bloody battlefield, a grown man was hugging a small pink dolphin while chatting with three lolis and even saying a thing or two to the dolphin who in response made particularly pleasant sounds to the ear each time.
Amidst the explosions caused by powerful physical attacks or terrifying magic skills flying around, four humans and a sea life seemed to be in their own world.
However, because the number of enemies was few and absolutely manageable, no one said anything about the strange sights.
Bai Zemin led the three little girls and the pink dolphin to the entrance of the base where he met Lu Xiaoyao. She looked at him with complicated eyes as memories of the past flashed in her mind, making her realize once again how colossal the distance was between the young man in front of her and herself even though the age difference was insignificant.
Bai Zemin exchanged a few words with her and congratulated her on her good workm as well as the growth of her character, which led her to become a wonderful woman that many talented young men had their eyes on.
After a few words, he jumped to the top of the walls with the girls still clinging to him to meet Kang Lan and Fu Xuefeng, leaving Lu Xiaoyao behind without noticing the slight blush on her face at all.
Lilith didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she watched Bai Zemin interacting with the others.
“That skill Immovable Heart is practically the opposite of Stone Heart… A few words and women are charmed by him, even little girls don’t seem to be able to escape.” She muttered to herself as she watched the three lolis compete for the place to see who would take the most space on Bai Zemin’s body.
“They’re just little girls…. Just little girls…” Lilith began to chant under her breath as she saw what was taking place.
“Leader…” Nangong Yi approached Bai Zemin with slow steps.
Bai Zemin looked him up and down, noticing that despite still being injured Kang Lan’s healings were as masterful as ever.
After a moment of silence, Bai Zemin looked him in the eyes and said in a clear and firm voice, “Nangong Yi, from today your position as a Rank 3 Noble will be revoked and in return, you will be given the title of Rank 4 Noble. Any complaints?”
Nangong Yi was naturally surprised that the first words to come out of Bai Zemin’s mouth after not seeing him for about a month were those. However, he quickly calmed down and after thinking about it for a moment understood.
“No, no complaints.”
“Em. I don’t want such things to happen again. Your younger sister Nangong Lingxin has left you far behind in all aspects but if you work hard maybe you can catch up.” Bai Zemin nodded and seeing the resolve in Nangong Yi’s eyes he felt satisfied.
Since Nangong Yi understood why he was being verbally punished then there was no need to talk anymore.
For people like them, losing a position was not too serious as it could be regained over time after putting in effort and gaining honors of some sort after contributing to the base. The reason Bai Zemin did what he did was to warn Nangong Yi that he was aware of his insubordination on the battlefield and that the next time would not be such a light punishment.
“Leader, if I may.”
“Go ahead.”
Kang Lan looked at Bai Zemin and asked quietly, “About the zombies from before…”
She and the others had witnessed how the two-meter giant that was still behind Bai Zemin like a shadow drove away not only the Second Order zombie but also moved large pieces of earth to carry away the other zombies.
Now, Bai Zemin had returned but there was no trace of the zombies.
How could such a thing not be strange? Everyone was curious and since among those present everyone was trustworthy Kang Lan had no qualms about asking.
“Ah, about that-“
Bai Zemin’s words were suddenly cut off as his expression turned ugly.
“Is something wrong?”
“Leader?”
“Big brother?”
“…”
Nangong Yi, Kang Lan, Fu Xuefeng, the Wen twins, Luo Ning, and even little Xiao Xiao looked at Bai Zemin with concern as they noticed his sudden change in expression and mood.
“Something bad happened.” Bai Zemin did not say too much. He linked a part of his soul to the Sky Destroyer’s ring and soon several golden runes lit up.
A few seconds later, Nangong Yi, Kang Lan, Fu Xuefeng, Lu Yan, and also Luo Ning abruptly raised their heads to the sky when they noticed the change in the atmosphere and the Wen twins did the same subconsciously even though they didn’t understand what was happening. They were the strongest at the moment so they were the first to notice it, however, the others were not slow to realize that something was happening either.
But when all the soul evolvers and soldiers raised their heads to the sky, everyone’s eyes widened as they saw the huge warship slowly approaching.
* * * * * * *
